Thanks LOM but no response from the router. Anything else to try other than serial cable?

You could try to setup a real tftp server on your computer, tftpd32 by P.Jounin (google it), using the same ip addresses as I listed before.

tftpd32 can listen for a file request from the router and you will see the routers connection attempts (if there are any)in tftpd32's log window. The window will then also show you the filename being requested (example firmware.bin, uimage.bin) so that you can rename the firmware file to what the router expect to get.

You can also use tftpd32 in the same way as tftp2, to push a file onto the router, it may be that the boot loaders tftp routines can't detect a connection to tftp2 but is more happy with tftpd32.

Make sure any windows firewalls or antivirus progs are disabled and use a WinXP or Linux computer, Win7 takes so long time to detect that the ethernet link is up so you will have missed the short tftp windows of 1 second before the router tries to boot from flash.

The P.Jounin app was the first I tried - never got it to work , but I couldn't disable my work antivirus and maybe that was blocking it. I know Mcafee has some stupid UDP / TCP blocking going on...

Baudrate for F5D8235-4 is 57600, 8 databits, 1 stopbit, and no parity bit.
Gibberish output is usually wrong baudrate or missing ground connection.
Don't give up yet!_________________You don’t really own a device until you can open it up and tear it apart

Still no go with 57600 8N1. Blank screen. Only if I wriggle it a little, I get gibberish characters. Also, I noticed if the router is not powered, one of the leds (storage I think) will light up and my computer loses it's connection to the serial port.

Edit: After soldering a header, no response from router. Spamming Ctrl-C or space bar does not put the router into cfe mode. Any other suggestions?

Great - after installing the newest 18024 (which now had p910nd installed, ie. a WORKING printer server) which had strange disconnection issues (disconnected and reconnected every few minutes), I decided to return to the stable 16785 again... now it looks like it's bricked.
All it does is switch between no connection and no ip address.

So the only way to return it to working state is hoping for an RMA or a serial cable? :'(

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